Renault 21 Monaco - misfiring

[dollywobbler]

Drat. Tax FAIL! Oh well.

[Mash]

When I was a t school my mate's dad had a new 21 GTS (E95 SAT) and it was the first car I knew of that had a remote key fob which I thought was so cool.I found the car in the local scrappy a few years back and it still looked pretty tidy. Haven't seen an early one for a long time.

[Pete-M]

The estate's wheelbase was longer than the saloon for the same engine, but I don't know the details. I believe the 3 and 5 door R5 had a similar arrangement.

It's madder than that; phase one. transverse engined R21s are shorter than londitudinal engined ones. The whole front end is different, wings, bonnet etc. They also have different grilles depending on whether they're petrol, diesel, low power or high.I didn't believe it when I was told, but a good friend of mine is a Renault pervert and he had both a 1.7 and a 21 Turbo. The turbo wouldn't fit in his garage, the 1.7 did.I kinda like 21s, high spec ones are wafty old barges, but they can cruise at highly illegal speeds all day and be very comfortable doing it.Nearly bought an immaculate 21 Turbo quadra a few years ago, almost wish I had. Merseyside Police, for some insane reason, had a lowish spec, cream coloured, unmarked / undercover 21 TX fitted with turbo running gear back in the early 90s. F400 XTJ was the plate, if memory serves me right. I remember it had strange alloy wheels that I've not seen before or since, and it only ever seemed to be driven by the same cop. Oldish chap with white hair who could hustle the poor old 21 rather improbably quickly.

[dollywobbler]

I've been using the 21 a fair bit of late, especially now the Saab's gone and the BX has been playing up (brakes). It's now had a cambelt change and all seems well.

 

Must say, it's really nice. Quiet at speed, punchy without being stupidly quick and it handles very tidily too. The seats are supremely comfortable and I feel I could drive it a long way, very easily. AND it's delivering 35mpg, which is bloody good really.

 

It's not perfect - there's a bit of a misfire at 60mph under light throttle (which I cure by driving faster) and the sunroof is still masticked up (am I brave enough to cut it free?) while the clutch still needs looking at due to a high pedal, but I really like it. Some moar pics.

 

[55bloke]

That does look nice, and it's good to see one being used and enjoyed. Do you know why the sunroof was masticked up? I would guess it would be because it was letting in water? If it's the same as on the 25, it would probably be because the drains running down the A posts are blocked.

[Mr Lobster]

That looks very nice. Agreed with 55 bloke about the roof. Drain pipes into A pillars will either be blocked or have rusted away completely giving you a leaky driving experience.

[Ratdat]

The sunroof on my Rover SD1 had been sealed shut with silicon when I got it. I cut it free, cleaned off all the seaker and it never leaked once. Weird! maybe it was some kind of preventative maintanance? OH BTW Mr. Wobbler, I've found another volume of R21 wiring diagrams you can have when your next in the neigbourhood.

[Guest]

The sunroof on my Rover SD1 had been sealed shut with silicon when I got it. I cut it free, cleaned off all the seaker and it never leaked once. Weird! maybe it was some kind of preventative maintanance? OH BTW Mr. Wobbler, I've found another volume of R21 wiring diagrams you can have when your next in the neigbourhood.

Same thing with the sunroof on my Amazon. It didn't leak at all.

[dollywobbler]

Thanks folks. I might take the plunge then. I was also reckoning that a leak could easily be blocked tubes. Easy to fix really. What's good for getting the 'orrible stuff off?Oh and thanks Ratdat. Though every time I come to visit, I just end up lusting after the red R16! (mind you, I've got something else lined up at the mo, so perhaps I'm safe)

[dollywobbler]

Balls. Took the plunge and set it free, but the glass section isn't actually attached to the motor anymore. It will manually push back a bit, and the motor will then close it, which is something I s'pose. Tested the drain tubes, and they drain, which is nice.

[Lankytim]

The roof doesnt leak IIRC, theres plastic clips that hold it into the runner that have broken apparently. Thats why it was sealed up.Great pics BTW, love the "drivers eye" view. Very 80's I must learn to disregard Mrs Lankytims opinion more often.

[dollywobbler]

Ah, thanks Tim. It still seems to rise up to the correct place near enough, so not sure how necessary the sealant was. Not been for a drive yet though...Anyone know what sort of a job it is to fix? I love sunroofs and having a non-working one is very frustrating.

[Lankytim]

I think its a pretty easy job, but the clips are NLA and always break when removed from donor cars. I dont actually know really, im just trying to remember what Lyn told me!

[dollywobbler]

The Renault has hit 75,000 miles now, and is still rather nice. However, a slight misfire under light throttle seems to be gradually getting worse. While curing it by giving it a bootful is fun, I worry for the safety of my clean driving licence. It's got one of those injection things, which causes worry. Recently serviced, though there is a slight issue in that the air filter can't be removed as the thumb-screw that releases it seized. Then the garage that did the service broke it by trying to force it - which at least saved me the job of doing the same (to be fair to them, I had to have the car back and they didn't have time to rectify the issue).But could it be something else? Doesn't get any worse when damp but I guess the HT leads could be breaking up? Hope it's nowt serious as I'm taking the ol' girl down to Bristol at the weekend for some serious mileage. I've not been further than Cambridge (about 25 miles) in it so far.

[r.welfare]

Changing the fuel filter may help, if you haven't done so already. Otherwise I'd say HT leads might be worth a go, if the plugs have already been changed.

[Milford Cubicle]

HT leads would be my first guess. My old Rover 623 used to misfire, it got so bad I had to pull into a scrapyard and nick an HT lead off a Honda Civic. It did the job.

[dollywobbler]

Ok. Might see if I've got anything appropriate kicking around in the garage. It's a cheap and easy check!

[Lankytim]

Does it run any better if you douse the HT system in WD40?I know that tracking down a fault is better than replacing everything but id be tempted to just replace the rotor arm, cap, leads and plugs.

[dollywobbler]

I've done that Tim, and it seemed a little better. Leads are certainly quite stiff, so replacement wouldn't hurt. It's a faff getting at the leads and dizzy (spark plugs are almost buried in the block) but I'll have a bit more of a look when I get a chance. Whenever that is!

[mr-reno-139]

usual problem is oil leak into distributor cap which turns to a sort of carbon powder and causes shorting out inside not helped by probably original ht leads ( have they gone rock hard if you try to bend them)if i get time b4 next 21T heads for scrap will investigate sunroof operation and try and keep bits for you

[dollywobbler]

Thanks Paul. I'll get the dizzy cap off and have a look. Leads certainly aren't soft so a new set is probably an idea.And cheers for the sunroof offer. If you could, that'd be really good. Hoping to be down south next month so can even save postage!